A Leela of Her Own/References
Trivia *The title is a reference to the 1992 film, A League of Their Own. *Abner Doubledeal, the owner of the Ultimate Robot Fighting League in "Raging Bender", has, by this episode, become the owner of the New New York Mets. His name references Abner Doubleday, who, long after his demise, was widely believed to be the inventor of baseball. A.G. Spalding, the sporting goods magnate, who also originated the financial ruin of the game's first league, the National Association,Decline and Fall of The National Association hand-picked and headed a commission composed primarily of business associates to proclaim Doubleday as baseball's creator in 1905.The Doubleday Myth *In the Pizzeria, there is a poster next to the TV that reads, "Cygnus is for larvas," a parody of the famous "Virginia is for lovers" slogan. *Leela's uniform number, 7/8, references Eddie Gaedel, a midget signed to the St. Louis Browns in 1951 as a publicity stunt, and the only player to wear the number 1/8. In his only major league plate appearance, Eddie was told not to swing, and walked on four pitches, making it as far as third base. *A parody of the Rainbow Man can be seen at the opening shot of Leela's first game where he is holding up a sign that says "Glorx 3:16", a to the "John 3:16". *The Blernsball Hall of Fame exhibit to honor "players who broke the various color barriers", shows a green alien, a purple alien, and the half black and half white alien from the Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". *The hyperbolic size of Mark McGwire's biceps is a reference to his suspected illegal steroid usage. *The Cavern On The Green, in 30th century Central Park, New New York, is a reference to the similarly placed 20th century Tavern on the Green, and The Cavern club where the Beatles were introduced to Brian Epstein on November 9, 1961. *The New York Mets' 1980s slogan was "Baseball the Way it Ought to Be!" the New New York Mets' slogan is "Blernsball the Way it Oughtn't Be". *The cover of Sports Illustrated featured says, "Leela's Beans: The Mets' Magical Fruit." This refers to a children's song about beans, "The Musical Fruit," which describes their flatulent properties. *Leela is asked for an autograph, to eBay, referencing autograph and memorabilia sales. Leela: "That's a popular name today. Little 'e' big 'B'?". *Hank Aaron XXIV's Atlanta shirt pictures a trident in the place of the Braves tomahawk symbol. This is not only a parody, but a reference to the episode "The Deep South" featuring The Lost City of Atlanta. *Jackie Anderson is the first African-American female blernsball player who must follow -not- in Leela's footsteps to make good the reputation of female blernsball players; her number is 24. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American professional baseball player; his number was 42. *Leela, the veteran player, throws Jackie, the aspiring player, her towel. This is a parody of a "Mean" Joe Greene Coca-Cola commercial, in which the pro similarly, albeit more accurately, gifts a young fan. *The Citgo sign in the background at 30th century Fenway Park is often seen on 20th century televised Boston Red Sox games. *A 30th century sign at Fenway Park reads, "Home of the Green Monster", the popular name for a high wall famous for stopping home runs at the 20th century park. Both a literally green and monstrous monster, and the wall, are shown in this episode. *This is the first episode to air after September 11th attacks on September 11, 2001. Footnotes Category:References